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Thomas
Thomas is a blue tank engine who works on the North Western Railway. He originally worked as the station pilot at the Big Station but longed to leave his yard to go out and see the world. After helping to rescue James from a nasty accident, Thomas was rewarded with two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel and was given the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line. He works there to this day. Biography Details of Thomas' arrival on the North Western Railway in 1915 are mostly undocumented and it is unknown exactly how he turned up on Sodor. The most popular theory put forward, however, is that he was sent to Sodor in a wartime mix-up. His driver and fireman got along well with the local people and married Sudrian women. By 1920, neither one wanted to leave the Island or their beloved engine. During an inquiry, Topham Hatt found out that the LB&SCR had written off Thomas as being "lost on war service." Rather than face complications resulting from a change in their books, the LB&SCR quietly sold Thomas to the North Western Railway for a "nominal sum". Thomas originally worked as the station pilot at Vicarstown, shunting trains for the bigger engines on the main line to take out. He enjoyed teasing the other engines, especially Gordon, who he would quietly sneak up on and whistle loudly at while Gordon dozed on a siding. Eventually, Gordon managed to get back at Thomas by pulling out of the station before he could be uncoupled from his coaches, dragging him down the line at a tremendous speed. Thomas vowed to never tease Gordon again. Perhaps as a result of his brief excursion beyond his boundaries, Thomas longed to see more of the world and become a part of it and became jealous of the bigger engines for having the chance to pull trains. On an occasion when Henry fell ill, Thomas took his morning passenger train since there were no other engines available, much to his delight. However, for unknown reasons, Thomas left the station before he could be coupled to his train, leaving behind the coaches, the passengers, and their luggage. Thomas was not aware of his mistake until he was stopped by a signalman who asked where his train was. Ashamed and humiliated, Thomas returned to the station and collected his coaches. Subsequently, the incident made him a laughing stock among the other engines. Thomas continued to grumble to the other engines, though they took no notice of him. However, Edward felt sorry for him and allowed him to take his goods train to Wellsworth while he handled his shunting duties in the yard. Although Edward warned him to be careful around the trucks, Thomas took no notice and bumped the trucks as he started. When they reached Gordon's Hill, the trucks pushed him down the line, causing him to lose control. Thomas raced through Maron station and came to a stop, where he was confronted by the Fat Controller. Sometime after this, Thomas was relocated to Wellsworth to learn more about handling trucks. Thomas was present in the yard when James ran out of control with his trucks and derailed in a field outside the station. Thomas fetched the Breakdown Train and rushed to James' aid and he helped to clean up the broken trucks and bring James back to the shed when he was re-railed. As a reward for his actions, Thomas was given two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel and was given the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, much to his delight. Thomas loved his branch line dearly and had many adventures during his first days on the line. He once left his guard behind by accident and on another occasion he accidentally swallowed a fish in his tank when he took on water from the lake, causing him tremendous pain. Personality Thomas is described as being a cheeky, fussy engine. He often gets into scrapes, usually by being over-eager to do things best left to bigger and more sensible engines. But clouds never last long in Thomas' life and he is soon bustling about again, playing his part in the yard and on his very own branch line, of which he is extremely proud. He loves teasing the others, especially the bigger engines, such as Gordon and on occasion brags about his superiority, but is always brought down to earth in due course by anyone willing to correct him, especially the Fat Controller and his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. If Thomas has one major character flaw, it is that he is forgetful and rather impatient. However, he is also optimistic, idealistic and altruistic with a heart of gold. Technical Details Basis Thomas is based on the LB&SCR Class E2 0-6-0T, particularly the second batch of locomotives built with extended side-tanks. These engines were built by Brighton Works between 1913-1916 to replace the aging Stroudley E1 class and were primarily used for heavy shunting and short-distance goods trains in the London area and on the south coast. During their final working years, the E2 class worked as shunting engines at Southampton Docks alongside the USATC S100 Tank Engines (Rosie's basis), until they were replaced by the BR Class 07 diesel shunters (Salty's basis). All of the E2s were scrapped, with none surviving into preservation. In 2016, word has been going around about a new one being built, with a blue livery and wheel splashers like Thomas himself, though this is debatable. Thomas has several major differences from the original E2 class. He is much shorter in length than his original basis, he has two extra windows on the sides of his cab and he has wheel splashers, something the original E2 class lacked. In early volumes of The Railway Series and the television series, Thomas' footplate is dipped at the front, but oddly enough is not dipped at the back. Livery Thomas is painted in NWR sky blue with red lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tanks in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow. Appearances the north western adventures= episodes * Season 1 - Henry, Speed, Grouping (does not speak), Insanity (stock footage cameo), Headquarters (does not speak), Brakes, Branch Lines, Wendell (mentioned), Affection, Mistreatment, Strike, Party, Snow, Racing, Nationalization (mentioned), Books (does not speak), and Tramway (does not speak), * Season 2 - Fog (flashback and stock footage cameo), Flood (mentioned), Accidents, and scrap north western specials * Season 1 - History (does not speak), Ghost (does not speak), Secrets (does not speak), and War * Season 2 - Preservation and Revenge |-| audio files themes whistles Category:0-6-0 Category:Tank Engines Category:Steam Engines Category:Male Characters Category:Standard Gauge Category:Thomas' Branch Line Category:Characters Category:The steam team Category:Sodor Stories Category:Engines use as other engines